Messages - seana

That's interesting about the secondary being unnecessary, I had the impression from what I've read here and there that that was something the more experience brewers always did, but I guess that's out of favor now. Hey, one less step I need to worry about, works for me.

And glad to know it's ok in the primary for an extended period. The directions in the brew kit made it seem like I needed to get it right out of there when the bubbles stopped.

And..unfortunately I did use tap water, but next time I'll go with distilled. Thanks Marty for the offer, Medway's a bit far from Melrose, but hopefully it'll all get fixed shortly.

On the advise of my local brew supply store, I wasn't planning on sanitizing because all my equipment is brand new.

Who the hell gave you that advice?

+1 Sanitize that stuff no matter what. Hopefully you have a no rinse sanitizer you can use. Whatever you do, don't ditch the batch just because you're having an issue with bottling. Worst cast scenario you have to wait until you have what you need and the beer sits in the fermenter for a little extra time.

Actually two different brew stores in my area told me I didn't need sanitizer with new equipment at first! So I only bought the no-rise cleaner and decided to forgo the San Star sanitizer for now...but that sounds like it was bad advice x2. They both said not to bother with sanitizer until after about 3-4 brews made. I don't want to call out the stores, but if you live in my area you can probably figure it out.

OK, sounds like I can afford to wait a bit then. I was concerned because the Brewer's Best instructions said to bottle after no bubble in the air lock for 48 hours, and it appears the bubbles are stopped. I've read somewhere else that the spent yeast could hurt the beer if left in there too long. But if another week's wait will not hurt the beer in your experienced opinions, then I'll hold off and hope for the water to be fixed by next weekend

I guess i could also transfer it to my secondary carboy, right?. My only fear there is that I only have 4 1/2 gallons of beer and so apparently I'd leave too much room for air to effect the beer in the secondary carboy, so that's what my LHBS advised me of and said to just keep it in the primary (but not sure if that person is credible anymore...)

Ok, so I'm a newbie homebrewer and I'm in the middle of my first batch, an IPA. I started fermenting on Tuesday and I think I'm getting close to bottling day. Then this afternoon here in Eastern Massachusetts, we've had a major water main break, and the state has ordered that we can't drink the water without boiling it. It could be a week or more before it's fixed. Ugh.

I still have all my bottles and equipment to clean before I bottle. On the advise of my local brew supply store, I wasn't planning on sanitizing because all my equipment is brand new. Is ok to clean my stuff with the contaminated water, or will I need to sanitize everything too because of the water hazard? And even if I sanitize, is it ok to do it with using contaminated water? Or will I need to go the next step and sterilize everything (and, how do I do that?) I'm already a bit paranoid that I don't know what I'm doing, so this water situation has me wondering if I need to just ditch the batch and start over after the water is safe. I suppose I could boil the water before I use it, but I've got 50+ bottle to clean, so that's a lot of water to boil. Thoughts anyone? (BTW, I just activated my AHA membership...)